Russian Fighters Buzz USS Donald Cook In Baltic Sea

by JASmius



Something tells me the officers and crew of the Donald Cook had no need for a caffeine fix yesterday:



Here are the details:

U.S. officials say a pair of Russian Su-24 Fencer attack planes buzzed a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea multiple times on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Russian planes appeared to be unarmed but did not respond to attempts by the crew of the USS Donald Cook to contact them by radio during the incidents. That's according to a U.S. defense official who was not authorized to discuss details and so spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said the commander of the USS Donald Cook deemed the Russian actions unsafe and unprofessional, and that the U.S. believed this constituted a violation of a 1970s agreement meant to prevent unsafe incidents at sea. [emphasis added]

The reasons why the Fencers pulled this stunt are at least twofold:

1) Because they could.  And as we have chronicled on this site numerous times over the past several years, this is far from the first time Russian warplanes, both fighters and nuclear bombers, have pulled such a stunt.  Vladimir Putin is demonstrating to the entire world that there is no provocation that cannot be inflicted on the United States under Barack Obama's rule that will motivate American forces to defend themselves or anybody else.  He doesn't have to verbally characterize The One as weak; he's proving it with jack-hammer rapidity.

2) It's the smokescreen from which a real attack will be unleashed.  Get U.S. forces used to getting buzzed by Russian fighters and bombers, make it part of the routine, raising no alerts, as well as acclimating the American public to it, to the degree that the Obamedia mentions it at all, and then one of these times, the Fencers WILL be armed and WILL open fire, the Bears or Backfires WILL launch nuclear cruise missiles off Alaska or the West Coast, and our metaphorical pants will be legironed around our metaphorical ankles.

"The only way to survive the unthinkable is to think about it."  That's not an old saying, I just coined it.  It's a tragic pity that Red "Chip Diller" Barry will never heed it.